The India batter Shubman Gill closes the gap with the No.1 ranked Babar Azam with his half-century against Bangladesh in the World Cup 2023.
Race for No.1 spot in ICC ODI batter rankings
Babar Azam tops the list of ICC ODI rankings for batters whereas Shubman Gill reduced the gap between them. The Pakistan skipper hit an impressive knock of 74 against Afghanistan on Monday and has 829 points after having a poor start in the ICC tournament.
On the other hand, Shubman Gill who missed the first two matches of the World Cup due to dengue has 823 points and is just 6 points behind Babar Azam. The Indian batter has been a threat for Babar Azam in replacing him in the top spot as his opening form was an impressive one throughout the year 2023.
He could replace the Pakistan skipper as the new No.1 ODI batter in the upcoming weeks. On the other hand, Indian star Virat Kohli has jumped to spot No.5 and looking to move forward in the list.
He was impressive during the World Cup season and ties with David Warner in the 5th spot. Kohli smashed 85 match-winning runs in the World Cup match against Australia and knocked an unbeaten 55 runs against Afghanistan.
He was sent out for 16 runs during the match against Pakistan but was impressive in the match against Bangladesh where he scored 103* runs and helped the side to victory. He again showed his performance in the match against New Zealand where he scored 95 runs.
He also smacked his 48th ODI century and stands one century behind the cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. On the other hand, South African batters Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen also climbed up the ladder in the ICC ODI rankings.
De Kock has hit 3 hundred out of 5 matches in the World Cup 2023 becoming only the 7th batter in the history of the tournament to hit at least 3 hundred in a single tournament.
He stands in third position with 769 points. He leads the list of most runs with 407 runs in 5 innings while Indian star Virat Kohli stands second with 354 runs. Indian skipper captured third spot with 311 runs.
Heinrich Klaasen has moved up 7 places to No.4, the new career-high spot in the ODI rankings.
ICC ODI RANKINGS FOR BATTERS (TOP 10)
1. Babar Azam – 829 rating points
2. Shubman Gill – 826
3. Quinton de Kock – 769
4. Heinrich Klaasen – 756
5. Virat Kohli – 747
5. David Warner – 747
7. Harry Tector – 729
8. Rohit Sharma – 725
9. Rassie van der Dussen – 716
10. Imam-ul-Haq – 704
